A celebration of
history, language,
and culture in the African Diaspora

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

DC Urban Legend: The Green Lady

I must admit that Halloween has very little meaning to me now as an adult. I still like to see the weird and funny costumes when I walk on the street, but otherwise I have no interest. Now, it was a different story when I was a kid in 1976 because this meant free candy and cool costumes! All the little kids in my neighborhood wore the latest fad costumes (ex. Six Million-Dollar Man, Kiss, Wonder Woman, etc.) while the big kids were out snatching bags. Yeah, I was a victim. I think that I first got robbed in 4th grade. I stood there trembling as some “Big Boy” went through my pockets. We were scared of those larger kids, but the one thing that big and little kids were scared of the most on Halloween was TheGreen Lady!

She was our very own Southeast/Northeast DC urban legend. There were only a few sightings of TheGreen Lady, but all the kids were afraid of her. She was worst than Candyman and she hated children. She was this old lady with skin that was painted green. She had wild hair and sharp teeth. Anyone that received a bite from TheGreen Lady would become insane like her. If TheGreen Lady captured a child she would lock the child in her basement where no one can find them. Then, she would make them eat molded bread, cockroaches, and toilet water to drink for the rest of their lives! That was in the mid 70's when The Green Lady was all the hype. I'm sure that she's too old now to scare children. Besides, the kids these days are so mean that they would scare the sanity back into her. *giggling* Tell me, was there an urban legend or scary person in the town or city you live? Please share.

5 comments:

Devil's night in Detroit.Until 1995 - I think all little children were afraid that the crazy hoodlum people were going to burn down their houses. Of course as we got older - we hoped that they would burn down school houses. Now its called Angel's night - to take it back from violence and destruction.

OK, this post confirmed that America is one scary place! I was never Halloween jacked by anyone when I went trick or treating. Jaysus! I am disappointed that I can't remember what the tales were when I was a kid... My memory has become befuddled ;-)

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I ascribe a basic importance to the phenomenon of language. To speak means to be in a position to use a certain syntax, to grasp the morphology of this or that language, but it means above all to assume a culture, to support the weight of a civilization.Frantz Fanon, (Black Skins, White Mask - 1952, trans. 1967)